Oakland City, Ind. - The Marian baseball team ended their series against Oakland City on a sour note Monday afternoon, dropping games three and four of the series against the Mighty Oaks. Marian's losing skid drops their record to 2-7 as they get ready to begin Crossroads League play.

GAME 1 | Marian 4-7 Oakland City
The Mighty Oaks earned their win in the opening inning of the game, jumping out to a quick 6-0 lead in the bottom of the first. Aden Burnside made his season debut on Monday in game one, and struggled through the first inning of play after recording the first out, allowing seven base hits. The hit parade allowed Oakland City to capture a 6-0 lead, before a second groundout from the leadoff batter to short ended the frame. 

Damien Wallace took over on the mound and threw strong in his longest outing of the season, pitching five innings of relief while giving up just one run. The senior's talents allowed Marian to stay in the game, as in the fourth inning a one-out double from Seth Hogg ignited a two-run frame. Hector Corona tripled to bring in his teammate, while Josh Lamb capped the scoring in the inning with a sacrifice fly, making it a 6-2 game. Wallace shut down the Oaks in the fourth with a three-up, three-down frame, however in the fifth a pair of base hits bit the reliever, as one more run came across the plate.

Trailing 7-2 entering the sixth, Marian again sparked a rally with Hogg reaching base on an errant pitch. Corona followed with a single, and with both runners in scoring position an opposite field hit for Lamb knocked in the pair of Knights. The surge brought Marian within three runs, as they trailed 7-4. Wallace would finish his outing in the sixth inning, pitching a quick three-out frame. Seth Risley took over on the mound for Marian in the final two innings, pitching a pair of scoreless innings without allowing a base hit. To the chagrin of the Knights, their bats suffered the same fate as the Oaks' did, as Marian went down in order in both the seventh and eighth innings, while in the ninth they managed just one base runner before ending the game on the losing end.

Corona led the Knights at the plate in the loss, as the freshman went 2-4 with a pair of runs scored and his RBI triple. Josh Lamb went 1-3 and drove in three runs. Burnside (0-1) took the loss on the mound, lasting one inning while allowing seven hits and six runs. Wallace and Risley shined in relief, yielding one run combined in the final seven innings. Wallace struck out eight batters and allowed four hits to one run, while Risley allowed just two runners to reach base in his hitless appearance.

GAME 2 | Marian 1-13 Oakland City
Jayson Cottrell got the ball in game two of the doubleheader, and suffered a similar fate like his fellow southpaw in game one, as the Mighty Oaks tagged the senior for six early runs. Cottrell surrendered a solo home run in the first inning as the Knights fell behind, but quickly got offensive support in the next half inning as Seth Hogg belted a solo home run of his own to tie the game.

The bottom of the second inning saw the Oaks take control of the contest, as a lead-off home run against Cottrell sparked a five-run inning. The senior managed to get an out via the strikeout before exiting after allowing an RBI double, but saw two more runs cross the plate from the dugout as Eli Loichinger allowed a sacrifice fly and RBI single. Marian trailed 7-1 after the first two innings of play. 

Loichinger settled in and pitched a scoreless third inning, but would allow a run in the fourth as his command faded with a hit batter scoring on a wild pitch. The freshman would then give up two solo home runs in the bottom of the fifth, exiting the game for Mitchell Porter. Porter inherited a bases-loaded jam, but got out of the inning with a strikeout. Porter allowed four runs in the sixth inning, as another Oakland City home run capped their big hitting performance, capping the scoring in the 13-1 loss.

Outside of Hogg's solo home run, Marian mustered just one additional base hit in the loss, with that coming off the bat of Johnny Roeder in the first inning. Hector Corona and Elijah Kelly each drew a walk in the game, as Marian managed just four total base runners on the day. Cottrell (0-1) took the loss in the game, retiring four batters while allowing six runs. Loichinger pitched 3.1 innings and allowed three runs, while Porter allowed four runs in his three outs of work. Carter King finished the game on the mound for Marian, retiring his lone batter on two pitches. 

Marian is scheduled to host St. Francis this Friday as they begin Crossroads League play. First pitch of the doubleheader is set for 2:00 p.m.

MUKnights.com: Your online source for Marian Athletics, tickets, multimedia, Knight merchandise, photos and more.